Forever Yours, Ada.

Chapter 13

Trigger warning: Violence, Blood, Child Abuse.

(I have marked the triggered portion with '***'. It's just a memory, so if you want, you can skip it. It only has a minor plot thingy. But nothing that could ruin your reading experience if you skip it.)

Aysel's POV:

"Come in", came a soft voice from the study. A voice that I had heard through its senescence. I glanced at Vi in the hopes that he might accompany my miserable self, but all he did was smile reassuringly at me,

"Take a deep breath. You're fine, my child", his gaze filled with warmth and affection. I followed his instructions and entered the room.

She was sitting at her table, concentrating on the papers scattered around her. Removing her specs, she looked up at me while I looked around to delay the dreaded conversation forasmuch as I could.

The study had homely aesthetics. Embellished with the perfect fusion of 1950-60s Western India and London, adorned with bookshelves and house plants, it was my favourite room in this whole house. Since I shifted here, I have spent most of my time here.

The devil appeared and mocked me, 'Bro stop thinking about the past and how architecturally beautiful this room is. You are so dead now! Just wait and watch how she will scold you to tears.' I tried to shoo it, but my fear had already started to kick in. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.

"Sit," her voice brought me out of my bubble and forced me to sit instantly on the chair.

"I saw your report—" she paused and continued "—well done. I am impressed." I felt the tension leaving my shoulders. It meant a lot coming from her. I could already feel my chest puffing up 3with pride. But there was something amiss. Her eyes glistened with an emotion I had never seen before. Did her voice tremble at the end, or was it just my imagination?

She cleared her throat, "But to execute it on such a large scale would require a lot of funds. At such an early stage in business, your one bad investment would lead to the downfall of your company. Just one mistake and your paper palace will crumble in front of your eyes.

Her worries weren't for nothing, but I had a solution.

"I know. That is why I have gathered all the vital information on our target investing sites, including their under-the-table deals and upcoming projects. It might not eliminate the risk of our investments becoming waste, but we can certainly minimise the risk with proper planning. I am pretty confident in my past working experience at Seth's." I answered confidently.

"What about the funds?" I almost laughed. 'Who doesn't like the questions they know the answers to?'

"I have taken a 20% commission for every project I have worked on so far; 30% for all those under-the-table deals. Funds are the last thing we have to be concerned about."

When Kriti had suggested this to me in the past, I hadn't thought much of it, but now I was glad I took her advice.

Flashing a smile, Nannu further articulated, "All of this still doesn't justify why you're using a stand-in. And that brings me to my second question: If you plan to use him for a long time, why not use your free time at Desai's?"

She hit the nerve I was dreading.

"I-I... I am sorry. I sit through the meetings because no one can see me in the dark. But socialising with employees. I don't think I am ready for it."

"Have you tried?"

I knew she meant if I had ever interacted with any employees. I looked down at my lap. She didn't need more confirmation to conclude I had never tried.